Sweep of Jupiter puts Jays in 1st place

After being down three games to Clearwater in the Florida State League North Division last Thursday, the Dunedin Blue Jays found themselves in an enviable situation: On the road for four games, where they were an FSL best 14-6 on the year, against the Jupiter Hammerheads, who had lost nine straight going into the series.

Meanwhile, the Threshers hosted the Bradenton Marauders for four games, with Bradenton in first place in the FSL South Division and coming off a four game split with Dunedin.

What a difference a weekend makes.

As Bradenton swept the Threshers to finish a 6-2 road trip, Dunedin swept Jupiter to continue their dominance away from home, with the four game swing putting Dunedin atop the North Division by one game over Clearwater.

The Dunedin sweep was punctuated with a 1-0 win on Sunday evening, as Chuck Huggins made his best start of the season, going eight shutout innings and allowing only three hits while striking out five.

The game's lone run came on an RBI single by Sean Shoffit, which was preceded by a double from the red hot Mike McDade. Both players had two hits in the win.

Dunedin was absolutely dominant on the mound against Jupiter, giving up only five runs over the four games. Matt Daly picked up two saves to push his FSL-leading total to 12 in 13 chances.

McDade was the star of the series for Dunedin, picking up six hits overall, with three of them home runs, all from the left side of the plate. He now leads the team with eight home runs, and is third overall in the FSL in round trippers.

At 27-17, Dunedin has the best record in the Florida State League, but will begin a critical stretch over the next week that sees them play seven games against tough competition.

They start the stretch off with a three game series against Clearwater beginning Monday night in Clearwater. The other two games will be played in Dunedin on Tuesday and Wednesday. A four game series with the Charlotte Stone Crabs begins on Thursday at Dunedin Stadium.